By EDF Blogs
By Curt Stokes, Director and Senior Attorney, Environmental Defense Fund
A new report from Switchbox, commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund, shows that blending hydrogen into New Jersey’s gas system is an expensive, inefficient way to cut building emissions. The report echoes the findings of a similar analysis done in New York and shows that safer, cheaper and more efficient solutions – like electric heat pumps – can reliably improve building energy efficiency. Hydrogen should instead be reserved for decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors, like heavy industry, while heat pumps – which are far more efficient and work reliably even in cold weather – must take priority for heating homes.
Several utilities in New Jersey are proposing — or have already begun — to blend green hydrogen into natural gas pipelines which they claim will reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency while still using the natural gas distribution system. However, our findings now show this is a costly, inefficient, and potentially dangerous endeavor.
Switchbox’s analysis finds that blending 20% green hydrogen into the natural gas system cuts building emissions by just 5%, far short of the expected 20%. Even worse, producing enough green hydrogen to reach a 20% blend alone would require enough energy to cover 30% of New Jersey’s total electricity consumption. Reaching a 100% green hydrogen system would reduce building emissions by just 71%, while producing that much hydrogen would demand more electricity than New Jersey uses today.
The report indicates that green hydrogen remains valuable — but for hard-to-electrify sectors like heavy industry, not for heating homes.
Two New Jersey gas utilities have proposed hydrogen blending projects in recent years. In 2023, PSE&G proposed a $28.8 million project using a 1 megawatt electrolyzer to inject just 2% hydrogen into pipelines serving around 40,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. In 2021, New Jersey Natural Gas completed construction of a 175 kilowatt electrolyzer in Howell, New Jersey, the East Coast’s first green hydrogen project for residential and commercial use. And South Jersey Industries is constructing a green hydrogen project in South Harrison, New Jersey.
Comparing these blending strategies to electric heat pumps show:
The report’s conclusion is stark: Green hydrogen blending is not a viable or serious pathway for decarbonizing New Jersey buildings. The state should focus on proven, efficient solutions — especially heat pumps — that deliver deeper emission cuts with far less strain on the clean electricity system.
“Blending hydrogen into New Jersey’s gas system wastes vast amounts of clean power while barely cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Heat pumps offer a far more efficient, scalable solution to decarbonize buildings,” said Juan-Pablo Velez, Executive Director, Switchbox.
The post Blending Hydrogen into New Jersey Gas Pipelines is Not a Viable Decarbonization Strategy appeared first on Energy Exchange.
By Curt Stokes, Director and Senior Attorney, Environmental Defense Fund
- A 20% hydrogen blend by volume wastes 70% of its energy before it reaches households, demands 1.8 times more clean electricity than New Jersey needs to decarbonize its entire economy, and cuts building emissions by only 5%.
- By contrast, electric heat pumps deliver the same heat output using 87% less renewable electricity and can nearly eliminate building emissions.
A new report from Switchbox, commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund, shows that blending hydrogen into New Jersey’s gas system is an expensive, inefficient way to cut building emissions. The report echoes the findings of a similar analysis done in New York and shows that safer, cheaper and more efficient solutions – like electric heat pumps – can reliably improve building energy efficiency. Hydrogen should instead be reserved for decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors, like heavy industry, while heat pumps – which are far more efficient and work reliably even in cold weather – must take priority for heating homes.
Several utilities in New Jersey are proposing — or have already begun — to blend green hydrogen into natural gas pipelines which they claim will reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency while still using the natural gas distribution system. However, our findings now show this is a costly, inefficient, and potentially dangerous endeavor.
Switchbox’s analysis finds that blending 20% green hydrogen into the natural gas system cuts building emissions by just 5%, far short of the expected 20%. Even worse, producing enough green hydrogen to reach a 20% blend alone would require enough energy to cover 30% of New Jersey’s total electricity consumption. Reaching a 100% green hydrogen system would reduce building emissions by just 71%, while producing that much hydrogen would demand more electricity than New Jersey uses today.
The report indicates that green hydrogen remains valuable — but for hard-to-electrify sectors like heavy industry, not for heating homes.
Two New Jersey gas utilities have proposed hydrogen blending projects in recent years. In 2023, PSE&G proposed a $28.8 million project using a 1 megawatt electrolyzer to inject just 2% hydrogen into pipelines serving around 40,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. In 2021, New Jersey Natural Gas completed construction of a 175 kilowatt electrolyzer in Howell, New Jersey, the East Coast’s first green hydrogen project for residential and commercial use. And South Jersey Industries is constructing a green hydrogen project in South Harrison, New Jersey.
Comparing these blending strategies to electric heat pumps show:
- A 20% green hydrogen blend reduces building sector emissions by only 5% while consuming 21 terawatt hours of clean electricity annually to produce.
- By comparison, heat pumps cut building sector emissions by nearly 100%, while using a fraction (87% less) of that electricity.
- A 100% hydrogen system would take 7.8 times more renewable electricity than electrifying all buildings with heat pumps.
The report’s conclusion is stark: Green hydrogen blending is not a viable or serious pathway for decarbonizing New Jersey buildings. The state should focus on proven, efficient solutions — especially heat pumps — that deliver deeper emission cuts with far less strain on the clean electricity system.
“Blending hydrogen into New Jersey’s gas system wastes vast amounts of clean power while barely cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Heat pumps offer a far more efficient, scalable solution to decarbonize buildings,” said Juan-Pablo Velez, Executive Director, Switchbox.
The post Blending Hydrogen into New Jersey Gas Pipelines is Not a Viable Decarbonization Strategy appeared first on Energy Exchange.